Hexadecapole deformations in actinide and trans-actinide nuclei

It is shown that hexadecapole deformations can be estimated from B(E2; 21+ → 01+) values alone. Application of this method in the actinide nuclei gives semi-quantitative β4 values for 250,252Cf. A comparison with theoretical values provides general insight into the relative roles of shell gaps at Z = 114 and 126 which are important for the binding and stability of the heaviest nuclei.